Safety compartment for medicine cabinets



Aug. 22, 1961 A. HOUGH 2,997,354

SAFETY COMPARTMENT FOR MEDICINE CABINETS Filed March 26, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 j //0 Fig.

Edit/r A. Hough 1N VEN TOR.

BY WW E Attorney:

1961 E. A. HOUGH 2,997,354

SAFETY COMPARTMENT FOR MEDICINE CABINETS Filed March 26, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fig. 3

4 7 5 5 3 Fig. 6

3 29 E d/f/r A. Hough 'IIII'4 IIIIII'I'I" 58 INVENTOR F /g. 7 BY g w 8 Unite 8 Claims. (Cl. 312-310) This invention relates to improvements in safety compartments for medicine cabinets, especially the built-in wall type of cabinet of bathrooms and the like.

By way of premise, young children having access to such cabinets frequently take medicines therefrom and become ill and sometimes fatally poisoned. Locking such cabinets with a key is not practicable because the key is often misplaced or lost so that quick access to such cabinets cannot be had in emergencies in which medicine should be given quickly.

Having the foregoing in mind, the primary object of this invention is to provide in such cabinets a closed, simply constructed medicine compartment adapted to be quickly and easily opened by adults without the use of a key but constructed and arranged to frustrate small children atempting to open the same and by requiring greater dexterity in the simultaneous use of both hands than small children are capable of.

'To the accomplishment of the above and subordinate objects presently appearing, this invention involves'door means for closing in the space between two contiguous shelves of a medicine cabinet, means for latching the door means closed including a latch bar manipulative into unlatching position, and concealing means for the latch bar normally hiding the same from view and operative against spring tension to expose the latch bar to view, the latch bar being operative against spring tension into unlatching position, the arrangement being such that the latch bar and the concealing means require the dextrous use of both hands simultaneously in a manner which small children are not capable of, and whereby to all intents and purposes such children will be completely frustrated in attempting to open the compartment and taking medicine out of the same, all as specifically set forth in detail in the following description and appended claims and illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which:

' FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of the improved safety compartment of this invention in a medicine cabinet;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged fragmentary view in horizontal section taken on the line 2-2 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is an enlarged fragmentary view in vertical cross-section taken on the line 3--3 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged fragmentary view in vertical longitudinal section taken on the line 44 of FIGURE 3 and showing the latching means with the latch bar in latching position;

FIGURE 5 is a view similar to FIGURE 4 but with the latching bar in unlatching position;

FIGURE 6 is an enlarged fragmentary view in plan of the top wall of the compartment;

FIGURE 7 is an enlarged view in cross-section taken on the line 77 of FIGURE 6, and

. FIGURE 8 is a perspective view of the latch bar.

Referring to the drawings by numerals, the closed compartment of this invention, designated generally by the numeral 1, comprises top and bottom walls 35 formed by two contiguous upper and lower shelves 7, 9 of a conventional built-in wall medicine cabinet 11, the back 10 of which closes and forms the back of the compartment while the side walls 13 of the cabinet 11 form end walls 15 of said cabinet.

The closure means for the compartment 1 comprises an upwardly swinging closing center door 17 and a pair of like side doors 19 at opposite sides of the center door States Patent 9 ice 17 mounted by vertical piano hinges 21 on the side walls;

13 for opening and closing horizontally. The center door 17 is hingedly connected to the front edge of the bottom wall 5 by a horizontal piano-type hinge 23 for upward and downward closing and opening movement.

The side doors 19 are provided with rearwardly offset front, vertical free edges 25 and the center door 17, when all of said doors are closed overlaps said edges 25 to maintain the doors 19 closed.

Means for latching the center door 17 closed is PTO? vided comprising an elongated flat latch bar- 27, carried by said door 17, and which extends generally parallel with said door 17 and is connected thereto, by spring means presently described, for downward and upward movement into and out of a longitudinal slot 29 in the top wall 3 into latching and unlatching positions, respec: tively. A pair of relatively wider flat flanges 31 on the top and ends of said latch bar 27' seat on the top wall 3. and limit downward movement of said latch bar 27 to establish its latching position. A center top band grip knob 33 on said latch bar 27 is provided for moving said bar. v

The spring means for connecting the latch bar 27 to the center door 17 comprises a helical tension spring 35 having a lower hooked end 37 hooked through a rear lateral, apertured, lug 39 on the lower edge of the center door 17, and also having an upper hooked end 41 hooked through a central, depending, apertured lug43; on the lach bar 27, said upper end beingslidably extended through an apertured lateral lug 45 on the back and upper edge of the center door 17 so that the spring 35 may be extended when the latch bar 27 moves upwardly relative to the center door 17 while said spring 35 is connected to said door 17. As will be seen, the latch bar 27' is swingable by opening and closing of the center door 17 out of and into vertical alignment with the slot 29 above the top wall 3 and to permit such movement of said latch bar 27 into alignment with said slot 29, an open-ended throat slot 47 extends forwardly in the top wall 3 from the transverse center of the slot 29 and into and out of which the end 45 of the spring 35 may pass into and out of the slot 29. A finger accommodating notch 49, for a purpose presently seen, is provided in the top wall 3 and extends rearwardly from the transverse center of the slot.

29 into which it opens.

A cover device for the latch bar 27 is provided for hiding said latch bar 27 from view from the front and top of the compartment 1 when the latch bar 27 is in latching position. The cover device comprises an angle bar 51 approximately of the same length as the width of the center door 17 and which is hinged at one edge, by a piano hinge 53 to the top edge of the center door 17 to extend across said door for swinging into and from overlying spaced relation to said latch bar 27 when the center door 17 is closed. In this connection, it is to be noted that the top edge of the center door 17 when said door 17 is closed is spaced below the top wall 3 so that the top wall 3 limits swinging of the angle bar 51 into covering concealing position. A suitable helical, torsion spring 55 on the pintle 57 of the hinge 53 urges the angle bar 51 into covering concealing position. The notch 49 provides for insertion of a finger under the angle bar 51 for swinging of said angle bar out of covering position to expose the latch bar 27 to view and for grasping thereof by the knob 33.

Longitudinal front edge reinforcing flanges 58 depend from the top wall 3 along one edge of the slot 29 at opposite sides of the throat slot 29, and a reinforcing flange 5=9 depends from the rear edge of the notch 49. As will be understood, the conventional medicine cabinet 1 is made of sheetmetal or wood which material is adapted for attachment of the hinges 21, 23 thereto and for forming of the slot 29 in a shelf thereof and for otherwise forming the described safety compartment 1 so that the cabinet 1 may be closed by the usual hinged door 61.

The operation of the invention will now be described. To close the compartment 1, the doors 19 are first swung closed on the hinges 21. The covering device or angle bar 51 is then swung and held swung outwardly of the door .17 with one hand and the knob 33 is grasped with the other hand to pull the latch bar 27 upwardly in opposition to the spring 35 so that it may be swung above the top wall 3 into alignment with the slot 29 to close the center door 17. Then the knob 33 is released and the spring 35 will pull the latch bar 27 downwardly into the slot 29 to coact with said slot in latching the'center door 17 closed in overlapping relation to the edges 25 of the doors 19 to maintain said doors 19 closed.

To open the compartment 1, afinger is inserted into the notch 49 under the covering or angle bar 51 and said bar 51 is swung downwardly and forwardly out of covering concealing position, shown in broken lines in FIGURE 3, in opposition to the tension of the spring 35. With the covering or angle bar 51 held in such swung position by one hand, the knob 33 is grasped by the other hand and the latch bar 27 is lifted thereby above and out of the slot 29 in opposition to the spring 35 into unlatchiug position, shown in FIGURE from the latching position shown in FIGURES 3 and 4. Then the center door 17 may be swung open and the doors 19 swung open as shown in broken lines in FIGURE 2. Inasmuch as when the doors 17, 19 are closed, no knobs or handles are visible, a young child will be perplexed in attempting to open the compartment so that as a general rule it will not even try, but in case such a child accidentally pulls the covering or angle bar 51 forwardly and uncovers the latch bar 27 it will not understand how to operate the latch bar 27 and is not liable to find out because of being confused by having to use both hands in attempting the different operations of holding the covering or angle bar 51 in uncovering position in opposition to the spring 55 and pulling the latch bar upwardly in opposition to the spring 35. Therefore, as far as children too young to have the dexterity with their hands required to open the compartment 1 are concerned, said compartment is a safe depository for storing medicines out of reach of such children. From the foregoing, the construction and operation of the device will be readily understood and further ex- 'planation is believed to be unnecessary. However, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction shown and described, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention as claimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. A safety compartment for medicines comprising top, bottom, back and end walls respectively, and an upwardly closing door, said top wall having an elongated slot therein generally parallel with said door, latch means for said door manually movable downwardly and upwardly when said door is closed into and out of interlocking relation to said slot into and out of door latching position, spring means connecting said latch means to said door door and tensioning said latch means against movement into unlatching position when the door is closed, and a spring loaded cover device hinged to said door for swinging into overlying concealing relation to said latch means when said door is closed.

2. A safety compartment for medicines comprising top, bottom, back and end Walls respectively, and an upwardly closing door, said top wall having an elongated slot therein generallyrparallel with said door, latch means for said door manuallymovablendownwardly and up: wardly when said door is closed into and out of said slot into and out of door latching position, spring means connecting said latch means to said door and tensioning said latch means against movement into unlatching position when the door is closed, and a spring loaded cover device hinged to said doorfor swinging into overlying concealing relation to said latch means when said door is closed, said latch means comprising a bar fitting lengthwise in said slot and having end flanges thereon engaging said top wall to limit downward movement of the bar in said slot.

3'. A safety compartment according to claim 1, said spring means comprising a helical tension spring behind said door having oneend connected to said door and its opposite end slidably connected to said door and secured to said latch means whereby said latch means is tensioned against upward movement while connected to said door, and a throat in said top wall opening into said slot for passing said slidably connected end of the spring into said slot to permit said latch means to be moved into and out of said slot when the door is closed.

4. A safety compartment according to claim 1, said cover device comprising an angle bar extending along the top edge of the door and hinged thereto below said top wall for abutting said top wall to limit swinging of said cover device into overlying concealing relation to said latch means.

5. A safety compartment for medicines comprising top, bottom, back and end walls respectively, and an upwardlyclosing door, said top wall having an elongated slot therein generally parallel with said door, latch means for said door manually movable downwardly and up I wardly when said door is closed into and out of said slot into and out of door latching position, spring means connecting said latch means to said door and tensioning said latch means against movement into unlatching position when the door is closed, and a spring loaded cover device hinged to said door for swinging into overlying concealing relation to said latch means when said door is closed, and a pair of doors at opposite sides of said upwardly closing door hinged to said end walls to swing horizontally into closed position and having free edges overlapped by said upwardly closing door to maintain said pair of doors closed.

6. 'In a medicine cabinet having a pair of side walls with a pair of upper and lower shelves extending therebetween, a safety compartment including a back wall closing the back of said shelves, a vertically swinging door pivoted to one of said shelves and movable to at least partially control the space between the shelves, the other shelf having a locking slot extending longitudinally thereof and an entrance slot opening transversely through the shelf into said locking slot, a latch bar movably mounted on said said door and movable vertically into and out of latching engagement in said slot, a spring connected to said latch bar and yieldingly urging the latter towards said slot, said spring being positioned for movement into and out of said entrance slot upon swinging movement of said door, a side door secured to a side wall and swingable horizontally with the space between said shelves, said vertically swinging door being positioned to overlap said side door and retain it in its closed position.

7. In a medicine cabinet having a pair of side walls with a pair of upper and lower shelves extending therebetween, a safety compartment including a back wall closing the back of said shelves, a vertically swinging door pivoted to one of said shelves and movable to at least partially control the space between the shelves, the other shelf having a locking slot extending longitudinally thereof and an entrance slot opening transversely through the shelf into said locking slot, a latch bar movably mounted on said door and movable vertically into and out of latching engagement in said slot, a spring connected to said latch bar and yieldingly urging the latter towards said slot, said spring being positioned for movement into and out of said entrance slot upon swinging movement of said door said latching bar including members thereon seatable upon said shelf adjacent the ends of said locking slot to position said latching bar in its locked position.

8. In a medicine cabinet having a pair of side walls with a pair of upper and lower shelves extending therebetween, a safety compartment including a back wall closing the back of said shelves, a vertically swinging door pivoted to one of said shelves and movable to at least partially control the space between the shelves, the other shelf having a locking slot extending longitudinally thereof and an entrance slot opening transversely through the shelf into said locking slot, a latch bar movably mounted on said door and movable vertically into and out of latching engagement in said slot, a spring connected to said latch bar and yieldingly urging the latter towards said slot, said spring being positioned for movement into and out of said entrance slot upon swinging movement of said door a cover member pivoted to the outer of said shelves and vertically swingable to and from a position overlying said latching bar whereby to conceal the latter.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 571,159 Goertz Nov. 10, 1896 1,152,404 Eldridge Sept. 7, 1915 2,267,891 Baker J Dec. 30, 1941 2,321,921 Lathrop i June 15, 1943 FOREIGN PATENTS 323,307 Italy "n Dec. 15, 1934 

